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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · chair · cap · last · bowl · racket · perch · wound

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. cap — a hat
  4. last — finally
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. last — final
  11. club — for golf
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. last — to go on
  15. club — a group
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. perch — the fish
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com